DETAILED ACTION
This action is responsive to claims filed 24 June 2024. Claims 1-8 and 12-19 are pending examination.
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Response to Amendment
Invention I have been elected.
Claims 9-11 have been withdrawn.
Claims 1-8 and 12-19 remain pending.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1-8 and 12-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kwon et al. (US-2011/0019694-A1) (hereinafter Kwon) in view of Shin et al. (US-2025/0234386-A1) (hereinafter Shin).
Regarding claims 1 and 12, Kwon-Shin teaches an operation method of a transmitter in a wireless communication system/ the transmitter, the operation method comprising:
generating sequences for generating a physical random preamble channel (PRACH) signal (Kwon, fig. 3, fig. 13, [0031]-[0072], [0073]-[0096], [0097]-[0100]: Examiner views generation of a preamble sequence set for producing random-access preambles as the generation of sequences for generating the PRACH signal.[0089] The BS may broadcast information regarding the root ZC sequence and information regarding the cyclic shift unit to the UE. The information regarding the root ZC sequence may be information regarding the root index. The UE within a cell may receive the information regarding the root ZC sequence and the information regarding the cyclic shift unit and generate a preamble sequence set.);
converting the sequences in a frequency domain (Kwon, fig. 3, fig. 12-13, [0031]-[0072], [0073]-[0096], [0097]-[0100]: Examiner views DFT processing of the time-domain preamble sequence to produce a frequency-domain symbol as the conversion of the sequences into the frequency domain. [0043] With reference to FIG. 3, a preamble signal is generated by sequentially applying DFT (Discrete Fourier Transform) and IFFT (Inverse Fast Fourier Transform) to the preamble sequence. In detail, DFT is performed on the preamble sequence of the time domain to output a frequency domain symbol. IFFT is performed on the frequency domain symbol to generate a preamble in the time domain. From this, the preamble is oversampled.);
dividing the converted sequences into frequency source blocks (RB) (Kwon, fig. 3, fig. 12-13, [0031]-[0072], [0073]-[0096], [0097]-[0100]: Examiner views division of subcarriers into antenna-specific subsets as partitioning the frequency resources using to transmit the preamble sequence. [0091] With reference to FIG. 12, when the UE generates preambles from a preamble sequence, it uses different subcarriers for each antenna. That is, the preamble sequence of each antenna is mapped to different subcarrier subsets. [0092] The UE divides the plurality of subcarriers into subcarrier subsets corresponding to each of the plurality of antennas. That is, the UE divides the plurality of subcarriers into several subsets. The divided subcarrier subsets may vary according to the number of antennas. For example, when the number of the antennas of the UE is 2, the plurality of subcarrier may be divided into two subcarrier subsets. In case of a single-antenna UE, the preamble sequence may be mapped to all of the plurality of subcarriers to generate preambles. [0094] The UE applies the preambles to be transmitted by each antenna from the preamble sequence in the frequency domain. When the preambles are generated from the preamble sequence in the frequency domain, the UE selects subcarrier subsets to be used by the respective antennas. That is, this can be interpreted such that each antenna uses only a particular subcarrier subset.);
allocating the frequency resource blocks to different spatial layers (Kwon, fig. 3, fig. 12-13, [0031]-[0072], [0073]-[0096], [0097]-[0100]: Examiner views selection of a particular subcarrier subset for each respective antenna as allocating different frequency resources to different antennas. [0094] The UE applies the preambles to be transmitted by each antenna from the preamble sequence in the frequency domain. When the preambles are generated from the preamble sequence in the frequency domain, the UE selects subcarrier subsets to be used by the respective antennas. That is, this can be interpreted such that each antenna uses only a particular subcarrier subset. When each antenna uses even the non-selected subcarrier index, it may be considered as a case in which all the subcarriers are used to generate preambles. However, in order for the BS to discriminate the preambles transmitted from the respective antennas, preferably, the subcarriers of the non-selected subcarrier index are not used. When the preambles are generated in the frequency domain in this manner, transmission power with respect to the preambles can be obtained to its maximum level from all the antennas.); and
transmitting the PRACH signal on the basis of the frequency resource blocks allocated to the spatial layers (Kwon, fig. 3, fig. 12-13, [0031]-[0072], [0073]-[0096], [0097]-[0100]: Examiner views transmission of preambles generated using the respective antenna-specific subcarrier subsets as transmitting random-access preambles based on the frequency resources assign to the respective antennas. [0093] Preambles are generated from the preamble sequence by using the subcarrier subsets corresponding to each of the plurality of antennas. The UE transmits the preambles generated for each of the plurality of antennas. The subcarrier subsets corresponding to each antenna can be disjoint. That is, the respective subcarrier subsets may not have common subcarriers.).
Thus, the system of Kwon does not teach a transceiver; and a control unit operably connected to the transceiver, wherein the control unit…
Similar to the system of Kwon, Shin teaches a wireless device having a transceiver connected to and controlled by processor (Shin, [0285]-[0287], fig. 13), which can be seen as, a transceiver (Shin, fig. 13, [0264]-[0282], [0283]-[0296]: [0285] may additionally include one or more transceivers 106 and/or one or more antennas 108. A processor 102 may control a memory 104 and/or a transceiver 106); and
a control unit operably connected to the transceiver (Shin, fig. 13, [0264]-[0282], [0283]-[0296]: Examiner views processor as the control unit connected to the transceiver. [0285] A processor 102 may control a memory 104 and/or a transceiver 106 and may be configured to implement description, functions, procedures, proposals, methods.),
wherein the control unit (Shin, fig. 13, [0264]-[0282], [0283]-[0296]: Examiner views processor as the control unit connected to the transceiver. [0285] A processor 102 may control a memory 104 and/or a transceiver 106 and may be configured to implement description, functions, procedures, proposals, methods.),
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Kwon with Shin to implement Kwon’s preamble-generation and transmission functions using a processor connected to and controlling a transceiver, enabling generated signals to be transmitted through the transceiver (Shin, [0285]-[0287]).
Regarding claims 2 and 13, Kwon teaches the operation method/ transmitter:
wherein the dividing the frequency resource blocks comprises allocating the frequency resource blocks to different transmission antenna ports, respectively (Kwon, fig. 3, fig. 12-13, [0031]-[0072], [0073]-[0096], [0097]-[0100]: Examiner views Kwon’s correspondence between each subcarrier subset and its respective antenna as assigning separate frequency resources to transmission antennas. [0092] The UE divides the plurality of subcarriers into subcarrier subsets corresponding to each of the plurality of antennas. That is, the UE divides the plurality of subcarriers into several subsets. The divided subcarrier subsets may vary according to the number of antennas. For example, when the number of the antennas of the UE is 2, the plurality of subcarrier may be divided into two subcarrrier subsets. In case of a single-antenna UE, the preamble sequence may be mapped to all of the plurality of subcarriers to generate preambles.).
Regarding claims 3 and 14, Shin teaches the operation method/transmitter:
Thus, the system of Kwon does not teach wherein the transmitting the PRACH signal comprises repetitively transmitting the PRACH signal with predetermined time intervals, and forms an RO group, and uses time indexes in the RO group to recognize the repetitive transmission.
Similar to the system of Kwon, Shin teaches configuring time resources for repeated PRACH preamble over multiple Ros, with interval between the repetition Ros (Shin, fig. 9, [0146]-[0150], [0197]), which can be seen as, wherein the transmitting the PRACH signal comprises repetitively transmitting the PRACH signal with predetermined time intervals, and forms an RO group, and uses time indexes in the RO group to recognize the repetitive transmission (Shin, fig. 6, [0079]-[0150], [0151]-[0200], [0201]-[0263], [0264]-[0282], [0283]-[0296]: Examiner views time resources for PRACH repetitions together with the disclosed intervals between repletion Ros, as predetermine timing between repeated PRSCH transmissions. [0148] For example, configuration information related to repeated transmission of a PRACH preamble may include the number of repeated transmissions of the PRACH preamble, information related to time/frequency resources for repeated transmission of the PRACH preamble, and information related to a PRACH preamble index, etc. [0197] It is assumed that the first RO among the ROs used by the UE for repeated preamble transmission is configured/indicated as the reference RO. Here, if the number of repetitions is large or the interval between ROs for repeated preamble transmission is large, the last RO among the ROs used for repeated transmission may exceed the RACH interval boundary (or the entire preamble repeated transmission interval may exceed 10 ms).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Kwon with Shin to repeat Kwon’s random-access preamble transmissions using configured time resources to improve uplink coverage (Shin, [0138]).
Regarding claims 4 and 15, Shin teaches the operation method/transmitter:
Thus, the system of Kwon does not teach wherein the time indexes comprise an index for recognizing first repetitive transmission of a starting RO (starting random access channel (RACH) occasion) group.
Similar to the system of Kwon, Shin teaches selecting the first RO used for repeated preamble transmission as reference RO and using that RO’s symbol and slot indexes, to calculate the RA-RNTI, which can be seen as, wherein the time indexes comprise an index for recognizing first repetitive transmission of a starting RO (starting random access channel (RACH) occasion) group (Shin, fig. 11a-11b, [0079]-[0150], [0151]-[0200], [0201]-[0263], [0264]-[0282], [0283]-[0296]: Examiner views s_id and t_id of the first reference of RO as time indexes identifying the occasion on which the repeated preamble transmission begins. [0140] Here, s_id (e.g., 0≤s_id<14) is the index of the first OFDM symbol of the PRACH occasion. t_id (e.g., 0≤t_id<80) is the index of the first slot of the PRACH occasion in a system frame. The SCS for determining t_id may be based on the value of μ (i.e., the SCS associated with the PRACH transmission). f_id (e.g., 0≤f_id<8) is an index of a PRACH occasion in the frequency domain. ul_carrier_id may be a UL carrier used for random access preamble transmission. For example, for a NUL carrier, ul_carrier_id may be 0, and for a SUL carrier, ul_carrier_id may be 1. [0185] Referring to FIG. 11(b), it is assumed that ROs for repeatedly transmitting preambles by a UE are configured to RACH period #N. Here, the first RO among the ROs used for the repeated transmission may be configured as a reference RO for RA-RNTI calculation. Here, the UE may use the s_id, f_id, and t_id values of the reference RO for RA-RNTI calculation, and may receive a RAR UL grant by using the preamble index transmitted to the reference RO as RAPID.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Kwon with Shin to designate the first RO of Kwon’s repeated preamble transmissions as the reference RO, providing a defined basis for calculating the RA-RNTI used to received the corresponding random-access response (Shin, [0183]-[0185]).
Regarding claims 5 and 16, Shin teaches the operation method/ transmitter,
Thus, the system of Kwon does not teach wherein the time indexes are transmitted through a control signal group.
Similar to the system of Kwon, Shin teaches transmitting the SFN value identifying the time location of the reference RO through DCI or RAR signaling, which can be seen as, wherein the time indexes are transmitted through a control signal group (Shin, fig. 11a-11b, [0079]-[0150], [0151]-[0200], [0201]-[0263], [0264]-[0282], [0283]-[0296]: Examiner views the signaled SFN value as a time index identifying the reference RO’s time location, and DCI as the control signal carrying that index. [0200] For example, an SFN (sub-frame) value where the reference RO is located may be used as additional time information. When the base station transmits the SFN value where the reference RO is located to the UE through the RAR UL grant (e.g., through a reserved field such as DCI or RAR), the base station may additionally indicate additional time information to the UE. Here, the UE may determine whether the RAR received from the base station is for the UE based on the RA-RNTI value calculated based on the reference RO and the SFN value where the reference RO is located (e.g., by comparing the SFN where the reference RO is located with the calculated RA-RNTI value).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Kwon with Shin to signal reference RO’s time information through control signaling, enabling the UE to distinguish the correspond random access response when RA-RNTI values overlap (Shin, [0198]-[0200]).
Regarding claims 6 and 17, Shin teaches the operation method/transmitter:
Thus, the system of Kwon does not teach wherein the transmitting the PRACH signal comprises allocating indexes for repetitive transmission of the PRACH signal in the frequency domain.
Similar to the system of Kwon, Shin teaches using a frequency domain PRACH occasion index associated with a reference RO selected from multiple Ros used for repeated PRACH preamble transmission, which can be seen as, wherein the transmitting the PRACH signal comprises allocating indexes for repetitive transmission of the PRACH signal in the frequency domain (Shin, fig. 11a-11b, [0079]-[0150], [0151]-[0200], [0201]-[0263], [0264]-[0282], [0283]-[0296]: [0140] Here, s_id (e.g., 0≤s_id<14) is the index of the first OFDM symbol of the PRACH occasion. t_id (e.g., 0≤t_id<80) is the index of the first slot of the PRACH occasion in a system frame. The SCS for determining t_id may be based on the value of μ (i.e., the SCS associated with the PRACH transmission). f_id (e.g., 0≤f_id<8) is an index of a PRACH occasion in the frequency domain. ul_carrier_id may be a UL carrier used for random access preamble transmission. For example, for a NUL carrier, ul_carrier_id may be 0, and for a SUL carrier, ul_carrier_id may be 1. [0178] Here, the reference RO may be predefined between the UE and the base station. Additionally or alternatively, the base station may configure/indicate the UE to configure/indicate the UE to the reference RO together with the PRACH configuration through RRC signaling. Accordingly, the UE may calculate the RA-RNTI and/or the MSGB-RNTI using the Equations 3 and/or 4.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Kwon with Shin to use the reference RO’s frequency-domain index in calculating the RA-RNTI, enabling the UE to identify the corresponding random access response (Shin, [0140]-[0185]).
Regarding claims 7 and 18, Shin teaches the operation method/transmitter:
Thus, the system of Kwon does not teach wherein the indexes for repetitive transmission of the PRACH signal are allocated on the basis of allocation positions of the frequency resource blocks; and a repetitive transmission order of the PRACH signal is determined on the basis of the allocation positions of the frequency resource blocks.
Similar to the system of Kwon, Shin teaches using a frequency domain PRACH occasion index associated with a reference RO selected from multiple Ros used for repeated PRACH preamble transmission, which can be seen as, wherein the indexes for repetitive transmission of the PRACH signal are allocated on the basis of allocation positions of the frequency resource blocks (Shin, fig. 11a-11b, [0079]-[0150], [0151]-[0200], [0201]-[0263], [0264]-[0282], [0283]-[0296]: [0171] For example, a specific signal or a specific channel scheduled/activated/configured by a base station may overlap/collide with time/frequency resources corresponding to a specific RO among multiple ROs. Here, the specific RO may be dropped by the UE, and the base station may perform repeated reception of the PRACH preamble in the remaining ROs except for the specific RO among the plurality of ROs.), and
a repetitive transmission order of the PRACH signal is determined on the basis of the allocation positions of the frequency resource blocks (Shin, fig. 11a-11b, [0079]-[0150], [0151]-[0200], [0201]-[0263], [0264]-[0282], [0283]-[0296]: [0113] Next, DCI formats 1_0, 1_1 and 1_2 may include resource information (e.g., frequency resource allocation, time resource allocation, VRB (virtual resource block)-PRB (physical resource block) mapping, etc.), information related to a transport block (TB) (e.g., MCS, NDI, RV, etc.), information related to a HARQ (e.g., a process number, DAI, PDSCH-HARQ feedback timing, etc.), information related to multiple antennas (e.g., an antenna port, a TCI (transmission configuration indicator), a SRS (sounding reference signal) request, etc.), information related to a PUCCH (e.g., PUCCH power control, a PUCCH resource indicator, etc.) related to scheduling of a PDSCH and control information included in each DCI format may be pre-defined. [0134] In order to improve UL coverage of a basic wireless communication system, a PRACH preamble repetition transmission operation may be performed. Hereinafter, a method for a terminal to enable PRACH preamble repetition transmission (or/and Msg. 3 PUSCH repetition transmission) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Kwon with Shin to use the reference RO’s frequency-domain index in calculating the RA-RNTI, enabling the UE to identify the corresponding random access response (Shin, [0140]-[0185]).
Regarding claims 8 and 19, Shin teaches the operation method/transmitter:
Thus, the system of Kwon does not teach wherein the indexes in the RO group for repetitive transmission of the PRACH signal are allocated to time allocation positions having priority to the allocation positions of the frequency resource blocks, and a repetitive transmission order of the PRACH signal is determined on the basis of the frequency and allocation positions of time resource blocks.
Similar to the system of Kwon, Shin teaches configuring time and frequency resources for repeated PRACH preamble transmissions and selecting a reference RO for RA-RNTI calculation, which can be seen as, wherein the indexes in the RO group for repetitive transmission of the PRACH signal are allocated to time allocation positions having priority to the allocation positions of the frequency resource blocks (Shin, fig. 11a-11b, [0079]-[0150], [0151]-[0200], [0201]-[0263], [0264]-[0282], [0283]-[0296]: [0129] i) When the higher layer parameter ‘txConfig’ is set to ‘codebook’, a UE is configured to codebook-based transmission. On the other hand, when the higher layer parameter ‘txConfig’ is set to ‘nonCodebook’, a UE is configured to non-codebook based transmission. If the up higher per layer parameter ‘txConfig’ is not set, a UE does not expect to be scheduled by DCI format 0_1. When a PUSCH is scheduled by DCI format 0_0, PUSCH transmission is based on a single antenna port [0143] Here, when performing PRACH preamble repetition transmission according to the existing method, the UE cannot arbitrarily determine the RO to be used in Equation 3 and/or Equation 4 (i.e., the RO for determining s_id, f_id, t_id). Accordingly, there may be a problem that the terminal cannot accurately calculate the RA-RNTI and/or MSGB-RNTI values. [0144] Hereinafter, in order to solve the above-described problem, a method of setting RA-RNTI when PRACH (or/and Msg. A) preamble repetition transmission operation is defined will be described.), and
a repetitive transmission order of the PRACH signal is determined on the basis of the frequency and allocation positions of time resource blocks (Shin, fig. 11a-11b, [0079]-[0150], [0151]-[0200], [0201]-[0263], [0264]-[0282], [0283]-[0296]: [0113] Next, DCI formats 1_0, 1_1 and 1_2 may include resource information (e.g., frequency resource allocation, time resource allocation, VRB (virtual resource block)-PRB (physical resource block) mapping, etc.), information related to a transport block (TB) (e.g., MCS, NDI, RV, etc.), information related to a HARQ (e.g., a process number, DAI, PDSCH-HARQ feedback timing, etc.), information related to multiple antennas (e.g., an antenna port, a TCI (transmission configuration indicator), a SRS (sounding reference signal) request, etc.), information related to a PUCCH (e.g., PUCCH power control, a PUCCH resource indicator, etc.) related to scheduling of a PDSCH and control information included in each DCI format may be pre-defined. [0134] In order to improve UL coverage of a basic wireless communication system, a PRACH preamble repetition transmission operation may be performed. Hereinafter, a method for a terminal to enable PRACH preamble repetition transmission (or/and Msg. 3 PUSCH repetition transmission) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Kwon with repeat Kwon’s random-access preamble transmissions over configured resources to enhance uplink coverage (Shin, [0138]).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
MolavianJazi et al. (US-20220256612-A1) discloses repeated PRACH preamble transmissions using groups of repetitions associated with different precoders. The UE performs a first group using a first precoder and a second group using a second precoder (see fig. 18).
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/F.L.S./Examiner, Art Unit 2468
/MARCUS SMITH/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2468
